SLIPKNOT's COREY TAYLOR Slams Bands Who Are 'Ashamed Of Their Success'

In a brand new interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor said that the reason his band has managed to sustain cultural relevance and critical acclaim for almost two decades in a manner that goes way beyond a gimmick is the fact that they continue to be passionate about their art. "I think our reasons for making music has never changed," he said. "And I think that's one of the reasons why we are not only where we're at, but we're also still striving for quality. It's not just about quantity for us. A lot of these bands, they hit a certain level of success, and they just completely check out. You know? They don't care anymore. They stop trying. And, to me, that means that they never had righteous reasons for doing it in the first place. Whereas for us — and maybe it's because of where we grew up — we were always looking for a certain type of music to kind of keep us going. You know, that's the kind of passion that we have for music. It's not just in the way we make it. It's in the way we listen to it, as well, and the way we approach it, live and everything, whether it's the music we write or the music that we love. And that's never changed for us, and I think that's one of the reasons why not only have we stayed where we're at, but we've gotten bigger. And that's one of the reasons why the fans have never left. They get it because they're just like us. They're fans, too. And they love the fact that we approach our own music with the ear of the fan, the heart of the fan. Like, we just want to do everything better. We want to make better music. We want to make music that you can feel. We're not trying to sell hamburgers or car insurance. This is music for us to live by. And that resonates, not only with the generation that got us started, but this newer generation which has come around and is now kind of passing the torch on to everybody else."

He continued: "It's crazy, man. It's like this whole new batch of fans, like this whole new fan base, that is really split down the middle when you go to one of our shows. You look at a lot of the older fans that have been coming to see us for sixteen years, and there's … it's almost 50/50. Whereas there's a whole new generation that has never seen us before. And it's insane. You know? But it's that same passion, whether you're 30-40 or 15-20. It's the same look in their eyes that we had when we first started. I'm pretty proud of that, man. I'm pretty proud of the fact that we've not only kept our older fans, but we've basically kind of expanded into this whole new realm."

Taylor went on to say: "I always get so upset when I talk to some of these dudes in some of these bands — and I won't mention any names — but they're just so elitist to the point of pricky. You know? They just have this air about them where it's like nothing matters. They're almost ashamed of their success. And it's like then why did you leave your basement? You know? Like why did you start playing shows live? You could've been a pretentious assfuck in your basement, and just made your own music, for yourself.

Corey added: "It's all a con. Like these guys who try to come off better and holier than thou, it's all a fucking con, because if that were true, they would never have played their first live show. They would have never have worked their ass off to get a record deal, or to put that song out for people to hear. It's just a weak excuse to come off as petty and preachy. You know? Whereas for me, I love the fact that people fucking love our music. You know? It gets me so excited that I can't wait to get on that stage. I can't wait to put the album out. I can't wait for people to hear it. I can't wait to share it. You know? Because that's what it's all about. You want people to be just as into your music as you are. And that's going to carry it around the world. It's like an echo that reverberates every wall around the world, and it reaches ears that you would've never even suspected. And it's ridiculous to say that you don't want fans, and that you can't be bothered to have fans. It's like, then stop doing what you're doing because you give people like us a bad fucking name."

The "Summer's Last Stand" tour kicked off on July 24 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and will wrap up on September 5 in Dallas.

SLIPKNOT is supporting its latest album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", which came out in October.

The latest single released from "The Gray Chapter" is called "Killpop".